The below is a breakdown of the Squads
- Squad Size – 16 (firm)
- Pre-drafts – Each team gets to pick 8 players ahead of the drafts (3 U21 players, and 5 Men’s)
- Drafts – Remaining 8 players are drafted (Can be any combination of U21’s or Men’s)
Below is a breakdown of the draft format –
- Each Team is allowed to submit 8 Pre-Draft picks (Deadline – March 15th),
- These 8 Pre-drafted players per team (8×8 = total 64 players) will be withdrawn from the draft pool
- Pre-draft picks need to include a minimum of 3 U21 players
- After submitting 8 pre draft picks, each team will be drafting an additional 8 players at the drafts which will complete their squad of 16.
- At the end of the drafts, each Franchise Team squad should satisfy the Squad formation of 16 as per the clause listed in the section above.
Player Grading (Tournament Fee) –
- Elite (1500 USD) – USA capped players, MLC contracted players, Players formerly capped with an Associate Nation in ICC approved Tournaments, Players who have formerly represented a Nation with Test Playing Status at the International Level in ODIs/Tests/T20Is, U19 World Cup Cricket.
- Platinum (1000 USD) – Part of a MILC Franchise Team as of the 2024 season squads or have played the Men’s National Championships in 2024
- Gold (500 USD) – Playing in city level USA Cricket registered leagues or played in the U19 National Championships in 2024
Financials –
- Pre-drafted players are encouraged to have a contract in place with their franchise. The terms & conditions as well as financials of this contract are between the player and their franchises, Houston Open has no obligation or responsibility to govern any terms, arbitration or disputes on these contracts between the franchises and its Predrafted players.
- The players entering the drafts get graded based on the payout structure listed above, no additional payout or reimbursement requests will be entertained by the franchise beyond the Tournament fee listed as per the grade the player belongs to.
- For any drafted players who do not reside within the Greater Houston area, the franchise will be responsible for providing the player with economy travel, boarding and lodging. It is expected
- Any non compliance or monetary requests made by a drafted player beyond the terms listed in this section will be considered a violation of the Houston Open Code of Conduct and will result in the player getting disqualified immediately from the tournament and will not be owed any payments from the franchise.
- The franchise is responsible to ensure that all the financials and tournament fee owed to their drafted players is paid out within 1 hour of the conclusion of the last match this franchise plays in the Houston Open, whether it be group stages, playoffs or Finals.
Match Day Playing XI –
- Minimum 2 Mandatory Under 21
- A named 12th man
- No Super-Subs/Impact Players are allowed.